The final UFC event of the year is shaping up quite nicely, and a bantamweight fight has now been added to the December 19th card. According to an initial report from BJ Penn, Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera has been officially booked for UFC Vegas 17.
Initially, it was Marlon Vera who expressed his desire to fight one more time in 2020. In an interview a few months ago, Chito also claimed that he is hoping to secure a fight against Aldo and it looks like the former has his wish.
Marlon Vera and Jose Aldo's respective runs in the UFC of late
Earlier in the year, Marlon Vera earned himself one of his career's biggest wins when he defeated Sean O'Malley in the co-main event of UFC 255. After several weeks of trash talking and back-and-forth between the pair, Chito was able to put away Sugar via TKO.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Vera has an impressive record of 6-1 in his last seven fights, with his only loss coming against Song Yadong.
On the other hand, Jose Aldo had a rough outing in his last UFC fight. The former UFC featherweight champion suffered a brutal loss to Petr Yan from UFC 251. The pair collided for the vacant UFC bantamweight title and the Russian eventually finished Aldo, in what many also labeled as a bad stoppage.
The fight against Marlon Vera will mark Jose Aldo's third fight at bantamweight. In the past, the Brazilian has claimed that he feels rather healthy at 135 and has been doing quite well in his new division.
UFC's final card of the year is shaping up nicely
The UFC on December 19th card will be headlined by a huge welterweight fight between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev. With Edwards struggling to find a fight for himself, UFC eventually decided to remove him from the rankings before booking the Chimaev fight. The Russian-Swede based fighter also has had a tough time finding an opponent after finishing all his three fights comprehensively in the Octagon.
The December 19th card will also feature the return of Stephen Thompson against Geoff Neal in another 170-lbs clash. The addition of Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera only makes this card a lot better.